So this is my first post on the forum and I am sure there have been a billion other posts related to my question. Unfortunately, I am quite the newb when dealing with credit and the information surrounding it seems to be muddled on the internet.

Basically, I am an 18 year old man who plans to attend college in the fall. I have recently picked up a job (the last month) and since then I've become obsessed with the idea of creating and improving my FICO score. I begin my freshman year of college in about 3-4 weeks and this whole idea of becoming an adult is very exciting but it is also very scary.

I am guilty of spending hours upon hours researching which products and services are best for me but I have having a very troublesome time in the area of credit. I HAVE NO CREDIT HISTORY AT ALL and would like to start building credit at a young age to get a head start. My ultimate goal is to one day hold an American Express card but I know that those require excellent credit to be approved for.

I am aware of use of secured credit cards but I see them as a stepping stone that I can potentially avoid. Another reason for my avoidance of secured credit cards is that I would rather not open too many cards that I don't plan on using in the future and closing credit cards is another area of information that is shrouded in misinformation.

As an upcoming student I was hoping that I would be able to get a leg up in approval for credit cards even at a young age with no credit history. I have scoured the internet searching for the best card and I have stumbled upon the Discover It for Students.

So if anyone has bothered to read that long wall of text (hopefully :o) I have a few questions.

1. How difficult is it to get approved for the Discover It for Students as a freshman going into college with no credit history?

2. If I do apply for it and get denied, how will the hard inquiry on my FICO score affect it and to what degree?

3. In the likely chance that I do get denied, will it hurt my chances of attaining a secured credit card?

4. Once I do get a secured credit card, will closing the card hurt my credit score once I am able to upgrade to an unsecured credit card.

Jungook wrote:My ultimate goal is to one day hold an American Express card but I know that those require excellent credit to be approved for.

Hey!

I didnt really care about credit until I was 19. I was able to obtain my first secure credit card at that the age of 20. 9 months after having a SCC I applied for my first american express card (BCE) and was approved.. one month later i applied for the (PRG) and was approved as well all before turning 21..

I would say start of with a secure credit card since you dont have any history...

Jungook wrote:So if anyone has bothered to read that long wall of text (hopefully :o) I have a few questions.

1. How difficult is it to get approved for the Discover It for Students as a freshman going into college with no credit history?

2. If I do apply for it and get denied, how will the hard inquiry on my FICO score affect it and to what degree?

3. In the likely chance that I do get denied, will it hurt my chances of attaining a secured credit card?

4. Once I do get a secured credit card, will closing the card hurt my credit score once I am able to upgrade to an unsecured credit card.

Thankyou for your time and cheers!

1. Not sure how difficult it is to get approved if one doesnt have any credit history- like i said i would suggest going with a secure credit card first-That will build up some history! 2. The fist time i applied for a credit card was for Sears (ahos denied me >.< Sure not getting my business now). not sure how that affected my score. but hey im at a 770 credit score with Transunion.. (check my signature history)3. Like i said go for a secure credit card first..4. I havent closed my Secure credit card do to the fact that it started my credit history, built my credit and ive had more time with the card- (im sure if i close it now it will ruin my credit really bad) plus i dont have to pay any fees for it so i`ll rather keep it. do like some say store it on the sock drawer if you dont want to carry it!

-2 days ago i asked for a credit limit increase on my secure credit card. my original credit limit is $600- not sure how much it will be now. but the bank will be sending a letter of consent to my parents* i think its bs since i tuned 21 already last week- I told them i turned 21 already and why would my parents consent be necessary- they just said my account was opened before i was turned 21.

I didnt really care about credit until I was 19. I was able to obtain my first secure credit card at that the age of 20. 9 months after having a SCC I applied for my first american express card (BCE) and was approved.. one month later i applied for the (PRG) and was approved as well all before turning 21..

I would say start of with a secure credit card since you dont have any history...

Wow congratulations! I indeed would like to mimic your success! When you say PRG does that stand for Premiere Rewards Gold from AMEX?

So this is my first post on the forum and I am sure there have been a billion other posts related to my question. Unfortunately, I am quite the newb when dealing with credit and the information surrounding it seems to be muddled on the internet.

Basically, I am an 18 year old man who plans to attend college in the fall. I have recently picked up a job (the last month) and since then I've become obsessed with the idea of creating and improving my FICO score. I begin my freshman year of college in about 3-4 weeks and this whole idea of becoming an adult is very exciting but it is also very scary.

I am guilty of spending hours upon hours researching which products and services are best for me but I have having a very troublesome time in the area of credit. I HAVE NO CREDIT HISTORY AT ALL and would like to start building credit at a young age to get a head start. My ultimate goal is to one day hold an American Express card but I know that those require excellent credit to be approved for.

I am aware of use of secured credit cards but I see them as a stepping stone that I can potentially avoid. Another reason for my avoidance of secured credit cards is that I would rather not open too many cards that I don't plan on using in the future and closing credit cards is another area of information that is shrouded in misinformation.

As an upcoming student I was hoping that I would be able to get a leg up in approval for credit cards even at a young age with no credit history. I have scoured the internet searching for the best card and I have stumbled upon the Discover It for Students.

So if anyone has bothered to read that long wall of text (hopefully :o) I have a few questions.

1. How difficult is it to get approved for the Discover It for Students as a freshman going into college with no credit history?

2. If I do apply for it and get denied, how will the hard inquiry on my FICO score affect it and to what degree?

3. In the likely chance that I do get denied, will it hurt my chances of attaining a secured credit card?

4. Once I do get a secured credit card, will closing the card hurt my credit score once I am able to upgrade to an unsecured credit card.

Thankyou for your time and cheers!

Hello Jungook, I'll do what I can to explain.

1.) Discover is one of the very few lenders that will approve you if you have no history at all (or you can try your bank/CU as well or Capital one.) Try for it. If not try the suggestion I have mentioned above.

2.) One inquiry will not do much damage, however if you decide to app for 8 different cards in one go, it'll be bad. Try to spread them around and do your apps at once so they hit the bureau that is being pulled all at once. Most lenders don't care after six months how many inquires you have and typically after 2 years from the day of the app, it will be off your CR. So just be careful and take it easy with your apps and you'll be good. Some lenders like Chase and Amex are pretty inquiry sensitive so tread lightly.

3.) No it will not. Although I was fortunate that I did not have to get a secured card many people are able to use that for a year and get better cards as time goes on.

4.) Most of the time the card will unsecure if your history and everything is good, and typically the longer you keep the account open, the better it is for your score, but if it is costing you something like an annual fee to keep it open and it ends up not benefiting you, you can close it once you are able to get better cards.

Something about the way that the first post on this thread is written that gets me kinds thinking that its written by a mom. If that's the case then getting a card with dual ownership helps build credit ( but puts the cosigner at risk of the other's actions). In any event, the link below suggests that Citi, Capital One, Discover all have great cards to start out with. Each of those issuers have drawbacks and strengths but if the interest is just getting a card to get going I'd try Citi first then Capital One since they issue Visa and Mastercard. Also look at some college websites because they all don't accept each brand if you ever need to use cards to pay things like campus parking tickets and the lot. Citi is likely to give the best line the best pricing and allow you to grow with the card. Cap One once issued is tougher on line increases and APR reductions per what I've read. Just my opinion.

I have a question. Not to contradict everyone else's responses or your original plan, but why do you want a Discover card?

And why would you cant to screw around with Capital One, who has the worst rewards and worst customer service?

I was in your shoes just 2 (almost 3) years ago. I'll be a Junior on August 26th. I was OBSESSED with getting an American Express card and building good FICO scores. (on a side note, I can't help but wonder if you ever watched the Suze Orman show? )

Discover acceptance is paltry. And their only real rewards are cash back. For the first year, you're not gonna be eligible for much in the form of perks or good cards. Go for a Visa or Mastercard through your bank. I started out with a $500 secured Alaska Airlines Visa from Bank of America. A lot of my friends started with or currently have starter cards from Wells Fargo.

My recommendation to get on the Platinum path to AMEX (get it?)-Open a VISA or MASTERCARD from your bank. And I mean a BIG bank, not a Credit Union. Most starter cards shouldn't have an annual fee either. -If any of your family have an American Express card, have them make you an Authorized User on their account. Even if they don't want to give you a card. Tell them they can keep the card, you just want the history and relationship with American Express.

It was about 14 months between opening the Secured Visa and Being made an AU on my dad's AMEX to being approved for my own AMEX PRG and Delta Skymiles Gold cards...

I would suggest avoiding a secured card. As long as your college is accredited and is listed on the credit card application page, you will be fine with a student card. I built credit the same month I entered college. I recommend starting off with the student card your primary bank offers (if it has one). The normal student kinds (aka no rewards) are usually "starters" for students like you. I didn't get my Discover until my senior year in college. I'm not sure if their student version approves people with no history as I've read that some do, and some don't, so YMMV. My friend tried applying for the student version as her first credit card, but got denied...but Capital One gladly offered her the Journey Student Rewards card.

1. How difficult is it to get approved for the Discover It for Students as a freshman going into college with no credit history?Some with no history have been approved, while others have been denied. YMMV

2. If I do apply for it and get denied, how will the hard inquiry on my FICO score affect it and to what degree?One inquiry is not the end of the world like many people on the internet claim. Your score will be fine. Maybe a 2 point drop?

3. In the likely chance that I do get denied, will it hurt my chances of attaining a secured credit card?No, nor will it hurt your chances of attaining another student card. A normal, non-rewards variant one of the big banks offer will be easier.

4. Once I do get a secured credit card, will closing the card hurt my credit score once I am able to upgrade to an unsecured credit card.Depending on the secured card, when it "unsecures" it's still the same account so it won't affect your score. And even if you have to "close" it, see if you can PC it to another card so your account stays the same. But if you close it, it won't immediately affect you for 10 years.

Also, I'd like to add that store credit cards are a great way to start building credit as well. I believe that secured cards aren't worth it, especially when there are other ways to BUILD credit since you are a student. If you aren't a student however, secured or store cards (YMMV..) may be the only way to go. And secured cards are the only way to go for rebuilding credit as well. But take advantage of your student status and apply for cards with no deposits! Just use credit responsibly

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